By Nastasia Peteuil
TIRANA, April 5 – Many dream of traveling around the world; few actually accomplish it; even fewer manage to set a world record in the process; and still fewer bring Albania into the mix. Yet a Canadian band, The Last Supper, has taken on this Herculean feat by performing in 100 countries to get a world record. Coincidentally, Albania became a part of the incredible project, when the Canadian rock ‘n’ roll band performed three times during 24 hours in Tirana between March 31st and April 1st.
It was as if the band had already accomplished their feat. Throbbing music in the streets, dancing, and a mass of eager city residents lent their voices to the unique experience offered by one American and four Canadian musicians. The lead singer Dan Shwetz, the lead guitar Peter Walker, the American bassist Scott Herdon, the drummer Mauro Scatozzer and the percussionist David Baines really praised the Albanian support of their endeavor.
Yet, beyond the band’s will to achieve their 100-country world record, the five musicians are promoting their slogan “Band Without Borders” through a new television show. Their journey began in February 2008 with the filming of each performance. The films have since been compiled into a documentary, which the band hopes to sell to some channels, to share their life on the road life and their encounters with the citizens around the world.
The best things are the hardest won
However, the band also had to face obstacles. “When we came to Tirana on Friday, everything we planned fell apart,” Scott Herdon said. “Fortunately, though the Albanians helped us as much as they could and everything finally turned out right,”
The owners of the Kaloj Caf鬠Kevin Tummers and Blerina Berderi, were the first in contact with the group. “They reached out to me to set up a stop in Tirana for their world tour,” Kevin Tummers remembered. “But we had a bad surprise when they came to Tirana. Our only sponsor dropped out and we had to cancel the performance. We had no money and no place.”
Still the opportunity to be a part of the experience could not be left by wayside. After contacting some bars, they were welcomed at the Lezard pub on Saturday night, then in Tirana’s street on Sunday afternoon and finally rounded out their trip by playing at Alkimi Aura-1570 metal club.
“The support did not come from the money but from the people,” Blerina Berderi added. For all of the organizers and the band, the key was to bring people together to show how music has no borders and prevails over all boundaries.
Though the group has now returned to their families and day-jobs in Canada, they intend to continue their trek two or three times a year, as they progress toward the world record. They may also return to Albania. “We stayed for too short to really enjoy the country and it gave us the will to come back here and to see the country and the culture,” concluded the group.
